Pumping system



' PUMPING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 1928 HUM INVENTOR. [MI E Ill/K900" ATTORNEYU T D Patented .li1ned2 i930,

ELMERE. Vinson, or, SAN FRAn-orsco, CALIFORNIA V PUMPING SYSTEMApplication filed December 5, 1928. Serial No. 323,820.

This invention relates to certain improvements in apparatus forIELlSlIlgQlliLIltltlGS ofwater to suitable elevations Where the samemaybe available for the operation ofidevices used in the generation ofelectrical power.

. :My improved-apparatus comprises, in brief,

one or more pumpingunits having means embodied therein for elevating bygravity, suitable quantities of water to be used in produc 110ingelectrical energy. The unit isprovided with a float having'a plungersecured thereto insuch'a manner that it fits into a compression chamberadapted to receive quantities of water. The float is movably located ina '5 tank, and-through suitable conduits suflicient water is admitted tothe tank from the :sea

or other suitable source to-elevatethe float, whereby upon its beingagain lowered by the lowering of the water level in the tank, the

7 e plunger is permitted to operate in the compression chamber to forcethe water therein to a suitable receptacle such as an elevated storagereservoir, where it is available for any desired purpose.- h

An object of my invention is to provide apparatus for elevatingquantities of water to desired elevations by the power of gravity,whereby it may be available for use in'pro- 'ducing electrical energy;

Another object of my invention is to provide', an-improvedhydro-electric power system comprising one or more pumping units whichis actuated by theriseand fall of water therein to elevate quantities ofwater to de- 3 sired elevations.

Other objects more or less apparent will present themselves or will bespecifically pointed out in the description to follow.

' In the accompanying'drawings which show the preferred embodiment of myinvention,

The figure is a vertical sectional view'of my improved pumpingapparatus. 7 I My improved pumping apparatus'consists of'aqtank' 1,positioned preferably beneath "1. the level of the sea and connected tothe latter by one or more pipes 2, through'which suitable quantities ofwatermay proceed to and from the tank, dependent upon the rise and fallof the tide. .Movably located in; the

tank 1 is'afloat 3 carrying aside 4 which is secured" thereto, andalso atelescoping extension side 5 which fits tightly against the side 4 butstill is .adaptedto move u andfdown therein. The topofthe side@5 1senclosed-by a movablecover 6 having a plunger 7 secured toits'underneathsurface. The plunger 7 slidably fits inside a I cylinder8which is secured to thefloat 3' at points around a central cut outportion inthe latter. Extending through the float no 3 with their endsrevolvably attached tothe top and bottom ofthe tank 1 are a numberofstandards 9 which are provided with threads I thereon with screwablyoperate in threaded lugslO, secured to the extension side 5. Part lyimbedded within float 3 and extending vertically above the top of thetank are a plurality of stand pipes 11 which communicate with; openings'12 located in etheibottomlof the float,lthe'said openings 12 in turncommunicati'ng'with the inside oflthe cylinder v 8 through the large'central cutout portion 1 in the float 3. The pipes llbeing connected. tothe inside of the cylinder 8 are adapted to receive quantities of waterejected from the Y said cylinder by the plunger 7 moving downa wardly. Avalve 13' locatedin thebottom of the plunger 7 may be opened. and closedby a rod 14 which extends upwardly through anopeni'ng through theplunger, thesaid rod vso being rotated through connecting gears 15 and16 bya 'niotor17; The motor 171 is adaptedto operate in a, direction toopen the valve 13 by the meeting of contactiplates18 and 19, .thelatterplate being "connected 130,85

a source of;electricity and V. mounted on the side 5, and the formerplatebeing mounted on the cover of the side 5. The motor P17 is adaptedto ;;operate in a reverse direction to cl0se the .valve 13 by themeeting of contact plates 20 and 21, the former contact plate 2O beingsupported by the cover 6, and the latter contact plate'21- being mountedon the side 5 and connected to the source of electricity. Asecond motor22 is connected by a shaft 23 through gears 24 and 25 with standards 9,thereby affording means for raising and lowering the telescopic side '5inside side 4i; The said motor is actuated in a direction to turn theshaft23 in a direction adapted 1 to lower side 5, by themeeting ofcontact:

I plates 20 and 21 which are suitably connected to the said motor. Themotor 22 is operated to turn the shaft-23 in a reverse direction so asto raise side 5 by the meetingoftwo other contact plates35 and 36 whichare also connected to the'said motor. A contact plate 39 is mounted onthe side 5 while'another (contact plate 38 .is attached to a small'float37 which is moved upward and downward by,

the rising and falling of the" water-in the tank 1', dueto the rise andfall of the tide ofthe sea. These contact plates 38 and 39 upon meetingcausethejmotor to'turn the shaft 23 so as to lowerthe side 5. a

provided in its side with a one-way inlet valve'28 andit's inside isconnected through outlet 29 with pipe which is provided with a checkvalve-31, thesaid checkvalve functioningto prevent water fromflowingb'ack .into the cylinder, 27 through the said pipe 30. Anopening. 33 in the side of the float 3' connects with an airvent 34,thereby providfing means for the passage of air to and from V the insideof the fioat.- A contactplate 10' mounted on the cover 6 and connectedwith the source of electrical energy is "adapted'to co ntact withanother 3 contact plate 41 sej cured to one of the pipes11, therebycausing a motor 42, to which the contact plates are connected, tooperate to open a valve 43' l which is connected to the operating shaftof the motor by suitable gears 43 43 and an upright rod 43 thus allowingwater to enter the stand pipes 11 from the tank 1 and pass 'intothecylinder 8. Suitable guides 44: located between the cover 6' andthebottom of the float 3 's'erveto insure the smooth upward and downwardmovement of the cover 6 with-. .in the side 5. Similar guides'i5 areprovided between the bottom of tank 1 and the bottom of Heat 3 to insurethe smooth vertical move} ment of the float 3 in an, upward and down 1ward direction. "Aswitch4 6 connected to the wires leading to motors 17,22 and s2 from the source of electrical energy, serves to turn on orshut; off the flow of electricity coming totheapparatus; r

Assumev tht thefvvater in the tank, has reached thelhigh tide mark andthat the float 3 has been raised with the top edge of theextensionsidef5' located' 'a few inches above the I water level in thetank and the cover 6 is 10- cated appr'oximately'flush with the top edgei a, V V

' to the motor 17; through the contacting of ofs'aidiside 5. l Attliistimethe switch46. is closed,thereby allowing the current to flowthe contact plates 18 andc19. Thesaid motor is thereby, actuated in sucha direction that the valve 13 is opened toallow the water in cylinder 8to. pass upwardly through the 7 causing the plunger 7 to descendstill-farther central opening in the plunger? and onto the top oi' cover6. The weight of the plunger l 7 and the cover 6 causes the-plunger 7 tosink downward into the cylinder 8. The area of the plunger 7 being muchlessthan thearea of cover 6, the depth of the water thus transferredto'the top of the latter is much less than the depth of the waterremoved from the cylinder. 8 to the top of cover 6 by this p r o vaction, leaviiigthe cover 6 and the water thereon considerably below thetop edge of the extension side 5 and also below the water level'intank 1. The movement of the cover h tact plate 20 into engagement'withcontact plate 21, thereby closing another circuit to themotor 17which rotates in'a reversefdi- 76in a downward vdirection carries thecon l rection to close the valve 13." *The ,enga'gement of these samecontact plates 20 and 21" 7 causes motor 22 to operate in a direction toturn the vertical standards 9-in' the lugs 10 so the extension side 5 islowered to a desired position below the level-of the water in tank 1,thereby causing the water in the tank to flow over the upper edgeof theside 5 and upon the cover 6. The weight of the water 0n the cover 6forces the cover and plunger 7 downstill farther into the cylinder 8.The

downward movement of the plunger '7; in the-cylinder 8 forces the waterin the said stand pipes ll'where it at all times maintains cylinderthrough the openings12'into the an exact equilibrium with the pressureofthe 7 water supported by the cover-6.

"When the cover 6 reaches a certain point in its descent, the weight ofthe water in the movable extension-side 5andabove'thecover 6 is suchthatit iorcesthe float 3 and the plunger 26 downward with sufficientpressure that the water in the cylinder 27 is forced through thepip'e'30into reservoir 32. Y As the float 3 descends the water inthetank continues flowing over the top edge of the eX-V 7 1 tension side 5and upon the cover 6, thereby so as to force the wateriii the cylinder 8out into the stand pipes 11, where "it rises. to a still higherelevation. p When the bottom of the float'3 reaches the top edge of thecylinder 27 the water in the latter has'beenemptied, and the contactplates 35 and 36 have been brought into contact.

with each other. The engagementof the contact plates 35 and 36 closesanother circuit to the'motor 22, thereby causing the said motor tooperate in a direction to turn the;

rial

standards 9 in a reverse direction andelevate the extension side 5.

*When the tide has fallen so thelevel of thejwater'in the tank isat thedesiredlevel be- 7 low the water in the extension side 5, the smallfloat 37 has descended so as to causethe meeting of contact plates'38and 39'. The

meetingof the contacts 38 and 39 closesfanother circuit to the motor 22,thereby causing 'permittin side 5 to ow by gravity back into the tank,At the same time that the pressure of the the motor'to turn in adirection reverse to its last mentioned operation. The standards '9 areagain actuated to lower theextension side 5 so that the latters upperedge is even with or below the water level in the tank; thereby waterfrom inside the extension water on the cover 6 is removed, the water instand pipes 11 flows back into the cylinder 8, thereby raising plunger 7.to the point it was when valve 13 was closed. When the cover 6 movesupward contact plate 40 is'carried with it, thereby causing a contact tobe'made between contact plates 40 and 4.1, which closes the circuit tomotor 42. The motor 42'is thereby made to operate to open valve 43, thuspermitting the gradual flow of water into the cylinder 8 through 11 and1-2. The

water again entering the cylinder 8 moves the piston 7 and the cover 6to their former positions, thus restoring the air space between thefloat 3 and the cover 6. The restor-.

ing of the air spaceas described causes the float 3 with its side 4 torise, the cover 6 in the meantime havingybeen forced upwardly untilthesaid cover again becomes flush with the top edge of the extensionsideb5. This movement of the cover 6 to its former position causes thecontact plate 18 to come into engagement with the contact plate 19, thuscommencing another operation of the apparatus as described' As theplunger 26 is lifted upward in cylinder 27, the check valve 31 closesandholds the water in a suspended state in the pipe 30. The valve 28 in thecylinder 27 has opened during the upward forms shown are intendedprimarily for illustration purposes.

By constructing my improved pumping apparatus in other forms than theone shown,

but by still utilizing the principles described,

quantities of water from fresh water streams may be raised to desiredelevations; It is apparent to those skilled in the art that my inventionmay be constructed in other forms than the one shown and described, sofor this and other apparent reasons I- desire my invention includedbroadly within the spirit of the appended claims; Y

Having described my invention, what I claimis: I f g 1. Apparatus of theclass described comprising a tank,'having an inlet, a float movablylocated in the tank, carrying a plurality of telescopic sides, acylinder carried by the fl oafl a cover movably' inside" the sides,

, carryinga plunger movably-fitting inside the cylinder, means forallowing water. to pass upwardithrough the plunger, a cylinderattaclie'd' to the tank, a plunger carried by" the float and "adapted toinside the cylinder attached to the tank, means associated" with eachcylinder for"allowingwate r to pass to' and from the cylinders, andmeansffor' ele- .vatin'g and lowering one of the sides. f QIApparatus ofthe class described comprising a tank having awater'inlet therein, afloat'movably located in the tank, a plurality of telescoping sidescarried bythe float, the u'ppermos'tof the sides havinga cover mov ablylocated therein, means for raising' and lowering the 'Lipper side, acylinder attached to the float havin'gwatercarryin'g pipes connectedthereto, a plunger attached to the cover and operating" in. thecylinder, a-cylin der attached to the tank having an inlet and anoutlet, a piston attached to the float and operating in the cylinderattached to the tank, andmeans for allowing water to pass I from thecylinderattached to the float to the top surface 'ofthe' cover. i

3. In apparatus of'the class described, a tankhaving'a water inlet'andoutlet, a float located in the tank and adapted to rise and fall withthewater in the tank, means mounted on the float for increasing anddecreasing] the weight of the float, whereby the float may be raised andlowered, a cylinder havingla water inlet and a water outlet, and apiston carried by the float and operating in the cylinder chamber todraw water into the cylinder and vto expel it therefrom.

4,. In apparatus ofv the class described, a tank having a water inlet, afloat movably located in the tank, means mounted on the float forincreasing and decreasing the buoyancy of the float, whereby the floatmay be raised'and lowered and means actuated by the rise and fall'of thefioat'for pumping water from the tankto an elevated'reservoin- 5. Inapparatus of the class described, a tank having a water inlet, a floatmovably located in the tank, a cylinder mounted on the float, having amovable cover thereon, means associated with the cylinder for allowingwater to flow onto cover, whereby the float may be lowered, means forremoving the water from the top of the cylinder whereby the float may beraised, a second cylinder 10- cated inside the tank having an inlet andan f outlet, and a piston carried by the float and operating inside thesecond mentioned cylinder. V

c 6. In apparatus of the class described comprising a tank having apumpingmechanism therein, the said pumping mechanism includ-- ing afloat, means for increasing and decreasing the buoyancy of the floatwherebythe float may be raised and lowered, a cylinder I I mounted inthe tank, and a piston carried by V float endrnovehly leeated inside thecyl inder. r

7 I 7. In apparatus of the cldss deseribedcenn prising'a tank having awater-inlet andout-.

let, a float moyably lo catedin the tank, water supporting meansmovably" mounted on the float, means for delivering water to landfromthe vwater supporting .means; wherebylthe 'float may be raisedand"lowered', a Cylinder; mounted in the tank-having an'inlet, and; an

outlet,- anda plunger carried by float'and l0 7 cated inthe cylinder,the said plunger being r adapted tonioveupwardly with the float to drawwater into the cylinder endto 'move downwardly with the float to i expelWater 7 from the cylinder; 1 r

8. In apparatusof the class deseribedcorn prising a' watercontainingrtank having an inletandoutlet, a floatmovably mountedin thetank, means for increasing and, decreasing the buoyancy ofrthe float,whereby the float may be'raised and lowered, and a pumping'mechanisrnoperated the raising and lewering of thefleauwhich said mechanismincludes a cylinder located in the tank having an inlet and outlet, anda plunger carried by the float and locatedin thecylinder.

' In testimony whereof I a'fiix my signature. V

. QELMER E. VINS ON.

